The only reason this seems so sensational is because a booster actually came out and confessed and because of the opulence that is related with Miami's nightlife.

Anyone who doesn't think this sort of thing happens at every major college is just burying their head in the sand. It's just like steroids in baseball, if the NCAA investigates everyone, everyone will be guilty. Far easier to pick a few programs that haven't won anything recently and punish them, especially after how stupid they looked with the whole USC thing. Hence targetting OSU, UNC and now Miami since.

Good article thanks for that. The players contribute so much but only get a small fraction, so I can see how a player would take a little on the side. However, that doesn't excuse them from punishment. They have to play by the current rules, even if the rules aren't perfect right now.

I honestly wish college football wouldn't be as big of a deal as it is. It's such a big business and there is so much money around that doesn't go to the guys that really earn it. I don't think that players can be straight up paid because I just don't know a way that would be semi fair between teams.

Would players make more money by going to a big name team like Alabama or USC? Would SEC teams pay out more per player than PAC-12 teams? Would starters make more than back ups? Would anyone go to lesser team if it meant they would get less cash?

I think that they players deserve more, but I just don't know how to give it to them. I can't agree to giving players cash until I see a method that is fair and doesn't completely upset the competitive balance.

That was absolutely fantastic. He came out swinging there and just really hit it.

Quote:

The difference, as far as I can tell, is that the NCAA has done a wonderful job duping people into believing this multi-billion dollar a year industry is pursued for the sake of amateurism. Itís a total sham. The coaches arenít amateurs, the administrators arenít amateurs, the corporate sponsors and media companies that make hundreds of millions of dollars a year on the backs of these players arenít amateurs. The only "amateursĒ involved are the guys doing all the work. Pretty nice racket if you can get it.

Scathing.

I really think the system, as it's presently constituted, doesn't make much sense anymore with this much money involved. I just don't think there's a particularly good or easy way to go about fixing all this. Football is the only major North American sport(and one of the only sports period) without any sort of farm system, in large part because the idea of playing football professionally and viable professional leagues weren't established until far after college football was a national phenomenon. I don't think that works on some levels anymore.

I will say that this Miami stuff really isn't the textbook example for the idea of the NCAA as a commercial entity. The reason this entire thing was a big deal was because of the lack of institutional control and the idea that recruits/players were being reigned in with sex. The money was part of it, but if that was the only element of the story it wouldn't have been near as big of a deal/looked as bad.

Would the ACC still be allowed to have a championship game if Miami is suspended for a year? That would be a big loss financially and I'm pretty sure the TV networks are leaning heavily on the NCAA here. It's a hypocrisy but I just can't see the NCAA going that far.

The "pile on ESPN" thing is the easiest thing in the world to do if you are a sports fan. They obviously deserve it though. It becomes less and less about sports and journalism year and more and more about "Entertainment Tonight with sports".

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"Compadres, it is imperative that we crush the freedom fighters before the start of the rainy season. And remember, a shiny new donkey for whomever brings me the head of Colonel Montoya."

The "pile on ESPN" thing is the easiest thing in the world to do if you are a sports fan. They obviously deserve it though. It becomes less and less about sports and journalism year and more and more about "Entertainment Tonight with sports".

It's not just that (although it is partly that), it's that they are incessant suck ups to the establishment. The minute the Roger Goodell/Michael Vick issue came up there were three separate articles on ESPN.com talking about how it was no big deal, while SI.com had two articles questioning the ramifications, etc.

ESPN is far too willing to sacrifice journalistic integrity for access. They also take credit for **** they don't do all the time, and never give credit to other companies when they break stories (never once providing a link to the yahoo! article on Miami, even though they referenced it hundreds of times)

It's not just that (although it is partly that), it's that they are incessant suck ups to the establishment. The minute the Roger Goodell/Michael Vick issue came up there were three separate articles on ESPN.com talking about how it was no big deal, while SI.com had two articles questioning the ramifications, etc.

ESPN is far too willing to sacrifice journalistic integrity for access. They also take credit for **** they don't do all the time, and never give credit to other companies when they break stories (never once providing a link to the yahoo! article on Miami, even though they referenced it hundreds of times)